I like to hunt, so I find myself driving at night on very dark roads (either going-to or coming-from the deer lease). Several times, I have almost hit a deer that darted across the road in front of me. My old truck has a Ranch Hand front bumper, but my new truck does not. I have not yet saved up for that add-on. So, as I save up for the front bumper (gauges first though), I decided to install a mod that I have been thinking about for quite awhile ....... the BriteBox. I bought mine from Dieselsite.com:

http://www.dieselsite.com/index.asp?...S&Category=320

I am sure that most of you know what this is, but for those who don't it is a small controller box that snaps in place in between either one of your headlamps. It has one fused wire to attach to the battery. The controller box will keep the wide angle of your normal lights operating when you turn on your brights. You therefore have quite a bit more light on a dark road.

The installation is a snap and it works extremely well. I installed it on the passenger side headlamp and tie-wrapped it to a convenient hole in the frame steel above the headlamp.

Took it out for a test last night and it lights up a huge area on eother side of the vehicle as well as providing the higher angle for long distance. You can simulate the results by pulling your high-beam lever towards you while driving w/ your normal beams.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a better view on dark roads.

 

I bought the brite box set-up as well and love it.

The beauty is that the fog lights stay on when the high-beam lights are used (normally the fogs turn off).

In 3 years or so, I have never had an issue and the extra current needed is provided by a direct connection to the battery so it does not over-stress the headlight circuit.

I too bought mine from dieselsite.com and have only good things to say about this company (I bought my coolant filter from them as well).

 

is this the same mod i have done tomy truck?, I spliced a wire under the dash, and my fogs stay on with my high beams.... im a little tipsy right now som im not sure what wires...but it works great

 

i always that it was weird my fog lights would go off when i switched to the high beams, this bright box thing sounds very interesting to me

 

It is the same but different. Yours fakes out the bright switch to bring the brights on with the lows and fogs. The Britebox does that same thing through a little controller that gets power directly from the battery vs. grounding out the switch.

 

the brite box is an amazing little contraption had mine in for a couple of months now and love it i got mine from us diesel parts they are the only place i have found that ships threw the mail instead of ups so it is way cheaper shipping to canada

 

Geno's Gararge (website) is another place that had them when I bought mine a few years back.

They were the cheapest, but dieselsite.com matched it... so I bought it from them as I liked their customer-service when I bought my coolant filter from them.

I installed mine so I could remove it if I had to for any reason.

I took a 90-degree angle piece of metal which has holes on each end (like you use to hang pictures and things and bent it open to 120-degrees (or so). I then secured it to an existing screw that holds my window washer fluid and the other to the Brightbox itself. Clean and easy install - see photos below.

 

Mark and Jeff, have you guys noticed any ills affects from running both high and low beams at the same time? I'm talking about the headlight getting too hot, etc. I've seen people express concern about that when doing the cut the wire and short to ground method that someone mentioned above. Just curious.

 

I have not used it long enough to notice. I will keep an eye on it though.

 

There are two things to keep seperate:

1) The Brite box has its own power supply to operate the extra lights and not overload the headlamp circuit/switch.

2) The "other mod" that people have used or written about accomplish the same thing but "fool" the switch and headlamp circuit to operate both high/low beams (not my 1st choice method).

I have never had an issue but I have always wondered about it as well.

I use standard rated (OEM size and wattage) Sylvania Silverstar headlamps. Even before I added this mod, I like the extra white light they put out.

To answer your question... no problems with running both the high/low beams at the same time (knock on wood).

 

An old thread, but I've a question for any of you electric savy guys out there ...
Can I hook this mod up to one of the upfitter switches .. or an aftermarket switch .. so I can turn the headlamps back to normal operation?
Thanks.

 

Why... kind of a silly question????

All this mod does is allow you to have your "highbeams" on at the same time as your fog lights... which they (the fogs) normally shut off when your "high beams" are used.

Under what circumstance would you want an "upfitter switch" function... and how would you want it to work... it can't?????

 

The trick with gadgets like this is to use is sparingly and with care.

On the plastic headlights, it can overheat the casing in a very hot night, slow driving, etc.

On glass headlights, no real problems.

I had several vehicles that de facto had that feature whereby holding the high beam dimmer stalk in a certain way lit up both.. but it stopped as soon as you let go.

A good idea...

I am looking at HIDs, LEDs, and so far, haven't found a real good set of aftermarkets to buy yet.

Am also tossing around idea of 2nd alternator to power all my gadgets...

 

I bought one of the dfuser wiring harnesses that runs the headlights off of batteries through two relays, instead of relying on the very small gauge factory headlight wires. I got the diode option that allows the lows to stay on when you turn on the brights.

It certainly makes things brighter. And I have had no trouble with light bulbs or the light lense, casings or anything.

 

It's ok. 'Why' is not a silly question. We all should be able to ask any question we feel may add to our understanding of our trucks or their systems.

...'The function of this mod is to allow your normal headlights to be on at the same time as your highbeams. For an extra $30.78 you can add the FLC (fog light control unit) which also allows your factory fogs to be on too.' ...

Beach, I see you have this listed as a mod on your truck so maybe they've changed the basics of the product since you purchased it. The way they have it listed now is what I was refering to. I just came across this product recently.

What I was wondering is could I revert back to just my normal high-beams on when I want them on, and not have the low-beams on too. That's what I was hoping a switch could accomplish, rather then getting out of the truck and unplugging something under the hood.

My understanding of vehicle electrics is currently limited ... no pun intended. I'm working on it.
But for where I live and the commute I have:
I leave at 4:30-5am.
I do 40 miles & just under 1 hour on country roads (which is where I'd like ALL my lights on). Then I hit the highways and main roads where I'm driving 70 miles for just under 1 hour (where I'd like the normal high-beams only)
By the way ... I don't have to do this every day of the work week, thank God!!

Since I've thought about buying this I've experimented by holding the lever to manually hold the low-beams on with the high-beams & I've concluded that I'd love this functionality on the back roads where I'm going slower, but I'm not crazy about it on the highways. For me there's too much light up front when I'm doing 75+mph. There seems to be too much light coming back in which ultimately reduces my ability to see far out infront of me. I even dim my CB and dash lights when I drive at night. That's just me. Your mileage may vary.
If it's possible great. If not, well okay. Thanks.